IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH UNEXPLAINED REPEATED ABORTIONS

OBJECTIVES: To examine the immunological profiles by antiphospholipid antibodies IgG, IgM, IgA immunoglobulins ACA, as well as C3, C4 complement component levels. METHODS. A group of 44 women with a history of three or more consecutive pregnancy losses was compared with 34 normal women. RESULTS. Our results showed lower levels of IgG immunoglobulins for the patient group (P < 0.001) while the C3, C4 complement component levels remained unaltered. Anticardiolipin antibodies were positive in ten patients for IgG or IgM isotypes or for both presenting a prevalence of 22.7% while none of the control subjects had ACA positive titers. The lupus anticoagulant was not detected in either group. Ten patients (22.7%) presented positive autoantibody tests as compared with only 3 (8.8%) of the control group. No statistical differences were found between the two groups when the frequency of each autoantibody's positive tests were examined separately. CONCLUSIONS: An inconsistent immune derangement seems to be present in recurrent aborters with the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies as the stronger representative marker of immune alteration.